Tuesday, May 20, 2008

I would normally expect something called the "Ultimate" to disappoint. It is like the old saying about never eating at a place called "Mothers" - it just won't be anything like she used to make. But, if you are the least bit curious about this particular cake, I can now say that it is worth a taste or two.

Audrey and I had talked about buying one for months now, just to try it out. We both love cake, particularly cake of the chocolate variety, and we are bit discerning in our cake tastes. Now, we haven't been going to Wegmans much since it is further away than the Safeway and the prices are just not that great on most items. I did get a great price on pears recently, but I digress. So, I'm over there the other day getting a prescription filled, and I figured I'd buy the small version of the cake. It is just big enough to carve out about four pieces of cake., which is more cake than we should probably have in the house on a regular basis. But this was a special situation!

We tried it out with some ice cream that night. It is basically the best standard chocolate cake I think I've ever eaten. Nothing fancy, no interesting flavors, not a trace of something different. It is just the best example yet of the traditional, archetypal chocolate cake. I'd definitely eat it again, except it is rather expensive. The small cake is $9, making this a rather costly indulgence.

Monday, May 19, 2008

I saw the orthopedist this morning and got a clean bill of health. The results from the MRI show no sign of a lateral meniscus tear or any damage of any kind. There was a suggestion of some degeneration on the inside of my knee, but Dr. Zimmer said that MRIs are overly sensitive to that kind of thing and that there was nothing to worry about in his opinion. So, in the end, there is some inflammation of the cartilage, but nothing that rest, ice, and some good anti-inflammatories can't handle. The best part? He said I can start running again. One mile, every other day, and ice afterwards. If I feel okay, I can increase the distance by 1/2 mile each week. So, that is like 4 miles for this week, which is a far cry from 65. I'm just happy I can run again. I've missed it terribly.

Monday, May 12, 2008

One of the many things I enjoy about having both Noah and Naomi is getting to see the differences between the two of them. As Naomi gets older, she is much more mobile and showing a lot more of her distinct personality, so the ways in which she is different than her brother are more pronounced. Lately, she has taken to doing things that he not only never did at her age, but that he never did at all. Noah has always been quite active, but he is a bit cautious. He wasn't one of these kids that just launch themselves off couches or run headlong without any control. He always seemed to check things out a bit and make sure he was going to be okay before proceeding with his plan. Noami, on the other hand, is an absolute daredevil. She has taken to climbing the ladder and getting into Noah's loft bed just so she can steal a sip of water from his Diego cup. She can't get herself down the ladder, but she doesn't seem to care. And, the other day, we caught her with one leg and half her body through the railing at the top of the stairs. There was nowhere for her to go but empty space and a very bad fall into the family room. And, just this weekend, Audrey found her out of her crib and crying by the window, post-nap. I'm not sure if this ridiculous monkeyness of hers is something to worry about or not, but I don't like it all the same.